Just about any gel they add caffeine to. Maurten gels: awesome. Maurten with caffeine: death. SiS Isotonic gels: great. SiS Isotonic + caffeine: vomiting on the start line. Something about the caffeine added just tastes like chemicals and I can’t do it.
SiS turbo drink mix. It had menthol in it for some reason. Tasted like how vix vapor rub smells. Made a bottle for the trainer, got on the bike, took a swig, got off the bike, and pitched the whole container. Soooo nasty.
Maurtens gel. Tastes like nothing, has the consistency of a jellyfish. Threw up at 25 mph
One day I wanted to try Aptonia vegan apple recovery drink.
They somehow managed to make a drink feel dry.
I hated it
SIS “Turbo+” gel in Cool Citrus Menthol tastes like something you shouldn’t put in your mouth.
I loved peanut butter and I could also use it in my classroom for tacking up posters
I knew SiS Turbo had to show up in this thread! I was dubious of the claimed benefits for indoor training, and I only bought it because it was on clearance (which makes sense in hindsight). I would describe the taste as mentholated bile, and that was at 1/3 the recommended amount…I really can’t imagine anyone getting it down full strength.
I complained to SiS customer service hoping for a refund, but got “SiS Turbo is one of our most popular products” in reply.
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the SIS citrus + caffeine is terrible, but the berry caffeine flavor is not bad actually.
Vivit Sport gel (berry), tasted like ibuprofen
Hammer HEED Sports drink… any flavor
Clif brand Raspberry gels
Its funny, I quite like the SIS gels in the winter when theyre cold. Cant do it after its been in a jersey pocket for 2 hours with my sweaty back on one side and the hot sun on the other.
I got a sample pack of some drink mix from Floyd’s of Leadville at a race this year, I mixed it up for a short endurance spin on the trainer. Took a sip and about barfed. it was literally the most rancid thing I’ve tasted.
Has anyone tried the Ginger MapleAid from Untapped?
Why in the name of all that is good and holy do you make a drink mix for endurance sports that is spicy? Thank god I tried it off the bike first….just awful.
Can’t imagine being hit and thirst and having to drink that stuff.
Not really food: Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) pre-workout. This is like drinking sea water. Never ever again.
The Blueberry version is not much better. I have the theory, that because it tastes so foul you tend to forget how hard the workout is and thus your RPE decreases
Larabar
I started racing in the early/mid 2000s and I don’t think anything tasted good back then, but I have vivid memories of trying to navigate a muddy downhill at the Snowshoe NORBA race while gagging on a plain GU gel. Somehow the lack of flavor made the overly thick texture even more disgusting.
Fortunately they’ve stepped it up a bunch- I’d eat the chocolate coconut one for dessert to be honest.
I like Larabars, but I would never eat one on the bike.